The pressures that high school football coaches face often are overlooked, yet they seem to be increasing every year.
In many cases those pressures depend upon the size and status of the program.
Throughout the state’s football history, there have been beloved coaches attached to a program virtually in perpetuity, regardless of their successes or failures on the field. And there have been coaches who were replaced after consistently winning, yet falling short of reaching the ultimate – state championships.
The expectations and the “win now” mentality vary just as much as mascots, names and school colors.
And coaches have been forced to adapt.
Daniel Brunner has spent his entire coaching career at Walton, a Class 7A program. He said most of the pressure he feels is self-induced. Monroe Area coach Kevin Reach, who previously coached at Collins Hill, said the “win now” mentality throughout the state is as high as it has ever been. Davis Russell, coach at Class 2A Bremen, said that his biggest responsibility at Bremen is just to do things the right way. But he notes that things have gotten crazy around the state.
Walton’s Brunner: “I think there is pressure on coaches in this profession, but I feel (they are) self-induced in a lot of cases. That’s because we are all highly competitive guys trying to win. Whether that is a 6-4 season being successful for you or a state title. But the pressures of high school football in this state are heavy, and if you’re not winning and not doing the right thing with your program, they’ll find someone else. I think that every program is different, and every program has different expectations. When coaches take jobs, they really need to look at what the expectations are. In some places, it’s as simple as getting a touchdown club organized and a budget, and maybe at another program it’s that plus a region title. And then maybe one program’s expectations are a state championship chance every year, or they’ll move on from you. The question of ‘What does success look like?’ is an important one. And the coach needs to know going in what the expectation is. In Year 1, I felt a lot of pressure. If we didn’t win, I wasn’t going to have a job. We were fortunate to go 10-0 and that relieved a little bit of pressure. It has been nice for me because I’ve been chasing a deeper, longer season each year, but the pressure for me is that I want a state championship at Walton. And nobody’s going to put any more pressure on me than me.”
Monroe Area’s Reach: “Now, probably more so than ever, winning is what everybody is looking for. I think as coaches, I know, when I got into it, I more wanted to help mold a kid’s character as much as I can. I think sometimes, people get caught up in wins and losses, and it does add pressure to the high school coach. If he is coming in and maybe at the higher level, they expect to play for the semifinals or the state championship every year, depending on the program. I couldn’t ask to be in a better place. The community – of course they want to be successful and have a winner – but when you talk about a town that just loves football and has accepted me, win, lose or draw. I don’t feel like they put pressure on me to win. I do. But I don’t feel like there’s any pressure on me from the town and from my administration. I don’t feel that added pressure that some other coaches at other schools might.”
Bremen’s Russell: “At Bremen, the thing that has been so good is that the pressure is just to make sure that you’re doing things right. Like last year, we started eight sophomores on one side of the ball and returned 17 starters this year from that team. To get those guys in the playoffs was just as rewarding. I talked to a guy yesterday, and he told me that he just loved watching the team play last year. The expectations here are more about expecting us to do things right and maximize the potential of your team. So in my case here, that’s how it is. But around the state, it’s crazy. You’ll see guys do a great, great job and for whatever reason are let go. I can’t speak too much on that because I don’t know it all, but there’s a pressure to win around this state, for sure. But the state of Georgia high school football is pretty dang good, too.”
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